The American voter countdown continues. Are you going to be part of the process? Are you plugged in? Are you doing your due diligence? Well, you may not want to be part of it, but the American people depend on you. We depend on each other!

Did you know that every American has a voter score? The big companies have access to the voter score database, and they want to know whether you voted or not. In fact, they can track your participation in the last four elections and know which party you are affiliated with. So you can imagine how they might use this information. For example, they might send you special mailers to get you to participate, or send volunteers to knock on your door for a more personal touch. One of their goals is to find out why you don’t insist on your right to vote, and if possible, to get you to change. They might even avoid you altogether because you aren’t a threat to the “current system.”

I also want to know why you don’t vote. Is it because you have lost faith in the system? Is it that you just can’t stand the way the system works? Do you think it’s corrupt? Or are you too busy and don’t want to be bothered?

But let me ask you something. What if your rights were taken suddenly taken away, or they were slowly chipped away? What if 10 years from now you don’t have the same rights, freedoms and liberties? If you knew that your vote could help retain those rights, freedoms and liberties, would you vote?

As Americans, we need to demand good service from our elected officials who work for us. Why is it that we demand good service at the burger joint or the department store when a product isn’t what we ordered, but then we don’t say a word or raise our voices when laws are broken or we sense an injustice? Isn’t our Country worth fighting for? Do we or don’t we support our troops? Then why don’t we watch over our Country and our leaders to confirm they are doing the right thing?

We can’t forget that our nation has haters! These haters don’t want us to have these rights under the U.S. Constitution—the rights offered to us by God and the Declaration by our Founding Fathers. The haters know that they can erode our political system if we Americans don’t appreciate our rights, if we don’t use them, and if we don’t fight to keep them.

This year, I’m asking you to be part of the solution, not part of the problem. If you have not registered to vote, then start there! If you are registered, then vote and vote completely! Now is the time to use this voting season as a teaching moment: for our kids, for our friends, for our fellow workers. It is time to have a respectful, passionate conversation. It is time to explore the possibilities and ask lots of questions. It is time to think long term, not short term. It is time to think about the legacy we will leave to our children. Stand up and be counted.

The following is a quote from a speech by Ronald Reagan in 1961 as he spoke about socialized medicine: “Until, one day, as Normal Thomas said we will awake to find that we have socialism. And if you don’t do this and if I don’t do it, one of these days you and I are going to spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children, what it once was like in America when men were free.”

After listening to a recent commentary by Judge Jeanine Pirro, I can’t help but be in disbelief by the inadequacy and the lack of knowledge that the American electorate appears to have regarding the history of Hillary Clinton. What short memories of the Clinton legacy! I know that career Democrats are blindly excited by the possibility of electing the first woman president. Even the mainstream media are standing by to be part of such a historical event. But much like the fervor about having our first African American president, the results are chaos and the country is becoming more divided than ever before. We shouldn’t be choosing presidents for their historical value! Especially now!

To put it simply, Hillary Clinton is a panderer… She panders to every group that can offer her votes. She will stop at nothing to retain power. It’s disgusting to watch because her tactics are totally obvious to me. Why are so many Americans so oblivious to the damage Hillary has caused, and will continue to cause? Why are so many Americans blind to the issues related to the Clinton foundation? She cannot be trusted. There are so many “scandals,” shady deals and dead people to list, one could get lost. Suffice it to say, where there is smoke, there is fire. Why are there mysterious issues after issues and nothing ever sticks?

I believe the answer to those questions are a lack of well-rounded educated Americans and their failure to retain information about American history and thus make decisions for themselves. So they depend on someone else to “tell them what to do.” These days, everyone must educate themselves because the secondary education system in America has failed miserably. Of course, the democrats dominate our educational system, which is why it is so biased. A great example of this is the dilemma of the Detroit educational system, which is replete with waste, fraud and abuse.

For years educators passed students through the system as the “easy way.” Imagine how that really taught our youth to lie and cheat the system to get ahead. Imagine those desperate souls now. These same educators received their yearly raises and their yearly union contracted step-increases while the unions became stronger and larger. No one sounded the alarm. I don’t remember hearing a word.

The sick reality is even bigger than this – since our leaders don’t seemly want to roll up their sleeves and get to the bottom of our educational nightmare, it is only logical to think that they DON’T WANT TO fix the problem. Maybe they are more inclined to leave it festering; and our children to stay ignorant, systemically. This allows the ignorance to continue, our elected leaders continue in power, continue in unchallenged storytelling, and continuing to fill their bank accounts. And the nanny state rolls on.

Americans must not give up… Americans must remember that we can lead the fight in this world for freedom and liberty and justice. We are the light, whether we want to admit it or not. The rest of the world is looking toward us to lead the way. We must keep the faith; we must hold the line in order to leave a legacy for our children that we once called America: “Home of the Free and Land of the Brave”. Why are we allowing the abandonment of our children and their education? As parents, we simply have not been paying attention. Why have we allowed ourselves to abandon one of history’s greatest stories? The story of American patriots making a way when there was no way. Against all odds, time and time again. The Americans beat evil back, with God in their heart guiding and urging them on.

So I listen about Hillary Clinton and I ask myself, where have all of the gallant Americans gone? Has Hillary and her band of democrat elites beaten everyone else into submission? Would challenging Hillary get you six feet under? We shall see, and if so, Heaven help us. Are we coming to a crossroad?

Thomas Jefferson once said, “The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure.

Ladies and gentlemen, do we plan to meet at the Tree of Liberty? Or do we sulk away to begin a few hundred years of hopeless tyrannical rule?

I wrote to Judge Jeanine Pirro on her Facebook page:

“Judge Pirro, after your open, I sat in silence with a stabbing pain in my heart, because your truth is so powerful and Hillary’s lack of character is so despicably close to the Oval Office. Thank you for doing what you do. You are a Great American.”

I have always believed we need to protect our borders. And for the most part, I have been reasonably confident that the Border Patrol of Homeland Security was doing its best to ensure the safety of the American people. But I’m losing confidence, and losing it fast!

I’m no stranger to the border. I’ve visited certain areas and while they appear to be secure, the reality is that the United States is overflowing with illegal Mexican immigrants. So, they’re getting in. That’s obvious. And unfortunately, many of those who cross the border without papers are criminals. And we all know that criminals cost taxpayers money.

Those of us living in Oregon sometimes feel like we’re immune to the issues related to illegal immigration. But that’s not true. We are also faced with criminal elements arriving to live in our state. What’s happening in larger cities is starting to happen here in the Pacific Northwest.

Recently, a guy named Brandon Judd has been speaking out against the newest border control policies under the Obama Administration. Judd is the President of the National Border Patrol Council and worked as Border Patrol Agent for 16 years, so he knows what he’s talking about. He says that the Obama Administration has manipulated data and that the Border Patrol is no longer a specialized team upholding the law, but rather is becoming “a political arm of the Administration.”

Here’s what Judd has a problem with: Under the new policy, Border Patrol agents have been instructed to no longer give undocumented immigrants NTAs (Notice to Appear). As a result of this “go free policy, thousands of Latinos have crossed the border, and among them area hundreds of criminal foot soldiers.

This policy makes no logical sense and does not have any long-term thinking involved. It’s a sell out! What is going on? Who is minding the store? And who is going to circle the wagons? Shouldn’t we as Americans protest? Shouldn’t we draw the line where the line needs to be drawn?

Americans have more freedoms than any other country in the world, and that’s why everyone wants to come here. But we need to protect ourselves and protect our children – they are the ones who will inherit what we leave behind.

It’s time to start a conversation and to educate ourselves. Meanwhile, I’ll keep watch on our friend Judd and the goings on with the U.S. Border Patrol.

My family taught me that it was my absolutely responsibility to vote and made sure I understood that voting was not only my duty, but an honor and a privilege. I guess you could say they were patriots. When I was young, my teachers also promoted the American way because every morning they would instruct students to stand up, hold their hands over their hearts and recite the Pledge of Allegiance. I loved that. I wasn’t just speaking empty words, I was literally pledging my allegiance to the flag of the United States of America! I believed we were one nation, under God, and indivisible.

So of course I would join the Boy Scouts where the flag was saluted and honored at each meeting. The Scouting program helped to solidify my American values through the teachings of American history, outdoorsmanship, character building, leadership and in serving the community. I wore the uniform proudly with an increasing array of well-earned merit badges. I participated in the Honor Guard and ultimately became an Eagle Scout, the highest rank achievable in the Boy Scouts of America.

So of course I have voted in every election since it was legal for me to do so. I enjoy the process and can feel my passion increase as I listen to the debates, or read about the candidates, or hear about them on the news and discuss politics on my radio show. I admit that I get upset with political shenanigans and especially the lies, twisted truths and the false narratives from the left. But ultimately, I am an American patriot. This year, like every year, I will sit down with my pencil and darken the circles of my choice. I will vote. And I will continue to salute the flag and pledge my allegiance to the United States of America. How about you?

To learn more about what goes on in Craig’s world, listen in to the Sunrise Show on News Radio 880 KCMX, follow me on Facebook or Twitter, and join me in my “Craig the Vote” campaign.

Why do you think people are continually drawn to Donald Trump? Why does he have the following he does? I have a theory after listening, watching, and reading for thousands of hours. My theory is – whether you like his actions or not, Donald Trump IS who you see. In an oddly refreshing way, he isn’t polished or poised or perfect in his presentation. He flubs, makes tons of gaffs, and horrible mistakes — but he keeps on going. He keeps on being himself and not caring about how people, parties, or people of influence want him to be crafted. He is Donald Trump. Always has been, always will be and in some very strange way, it’s weirdly refreshing. Before you get out the baseball bats and start beating this blog to death — take a moment and contemplate this concept. People relate to his “realness” and the fact that he says what many of us are guilty of thinking. His filters are off, and his arrogance is evident, yet once again he is who he is. We aren’t left wondering, “who is that guy?” or “what is he really all about?”

As this campaign races to the finish line over the next six months, mark my words “The Donald” is a force to be reckoned with because no one can be, act, or try to emulate this man. His unique ability to say things as he sees them is resonating with the public who have lived for the last eight years with a President that is not transparent or real. With all his flaws, Mr. Trump, this candidate is unique and his ability to say things as he sees them has turned the entire political process up side down and caught the GOP totally off guard. It’s going to be history in the making, this we can count on.